The scene changes. The Impresario, Lock,
and any additional party members other than Celes are all seated
in a large, otherwise empty, balcony that overlooks the orchestra
and stage. 2-7 "Overture" plays. The curtain rises, and
a man walks onto the stage.

西軍と東軍の戦いは
日ましに激しくなっていった。

西軍のガルー城の戦士ドラクゥは
激戦の戦地で母国に残してきた
マリアの事を思う……

The war between the Western Forces and the
Eastern Forces grew more intense by the day.

On the fiercely contested front lines, Draku,
a warrior of the Western Forces' Garuu Castle,
thinks of Maria, left behind in their homeland...

The West and East
were waging war...

Draco, the West's great hero,
thinks of his love, Maria.
Is she safe? Is she waiting?

The narrator leaves the stage. A man wearing plate
mail walks on stage, and is promptly trampled by three soldiers riding chocobos.
He reacts by getting up and starting to sing. Gotta love opera. Though technically
this is more of an operetta, considering some dialog is spoken.

♪ オー マリア
オー マリア
わたしの こえが とどいているか
おまえの もとへ ♪

♪ Oh— Maria
Oh— Maria
Does my voice reach you
where you are? ♪

♪ Oh Maria
Oh Maria
Please, hear my voice!
How I long to be with you! ♪

The game uses doubled sixteenth notes,
not single eight notes, but it's close enough.

The screen pans back to the balcony. Lock gets up.

{ﾛｯｸ}「俺
ひかえ室の方に行ってみるよ。

{Lock}: I'm gonna try
going to the anteroom.

{LOCKE}: I'm going to the dressing room.

If Shadow had been in the party,
he's gone now.

ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「あんたのお供は
一人で帰ってしまったよ。
５分もいたらねちまうって……

Impresario: Your companion left by
himself. He said he'd doze off if
he stayed even five minutes...

IMPRESARIO: Your friend left.
Said he'd have fallen asleep in another 5 minutes...

I guess opera's just not his thing.
Unfortunately, this leaves you a member short for quite some time...

ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「だいじょうぶかな。

Impresario: I wonder if everything's okay.

IMPRESARIO: Is everything okay?

Anyone else sitting around
has a line, too.

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「いってやりなよ。

{Edgar}: Go do it.

{EDGAR}: Go right ahead.

{ﾏｯｼｭ}「お？
何で皆歌ってるんだ？

{Mash}: Huh?
How come everyone's singing?

{SABIN}: Uh?
Why's everyone singing?

{ｶｲｴﾝ}「どこへ行くでござるか？
落ち着いて見よ。

{Cayenne}: Whither goest thou?
Try calming thyself.

{CYAN}: Going somewhere?
I'm going to relax!

{ｶﾞｳ}「ガウ

{Gau}: Gau.

{GAU}: Pretty song!

Why make up meaning
where there isn't any?

Lock heads to the anteroom, where Celes is
dressed up in a fancy gown. He takes a look at her and turns away, blushing
deeply.

{CELES}: On with the show!
This is a big scene in which Maria senses that something's happened to Draco!

This is possibly the first time Celes speaks
with a distinctly feminine (as opposed to simply non-masculine) tone,
and she continues to use mildly feminine speech for the rest of the
game. Perhaps dressing up in pretty clothes and being able to
figuratively let her hair down for once and do something less
hardassed than soldiering helps change her frame of mind. I can't
imagine that she had much of a normal childhood.

{ﾛｯｸ}「最後に台本チェック
した方がいいんじゃないか？

{Lock}: Hadn't you better check
the script one last time?

{LOCKE}: You'd better check the score one last time.

If the play has failed at least once already,
the above conversation is skipped, and Lock just says:

{ﾛｯｸ}「今度はへますんなよ。

{Lock}: Don't mess up this time.

{LOCKE}: Don't make any more mistakes!

Celes rereads the script. It contains the
lyrics for the first part of the upcoming aria, and the following
stage directions.

...take the flowers in hand here.
Climb to the balcony on the top floor of the
castle and toss the flowers to the starry sky.
(Finish up the theatrics during the interlude.
There's not much time before the
second chorus, so make it quick.
- The Impresario)

...here you pick up the flowers.
Climb the stairs to the balcony high atop the castle.
Raise the flowers to the stars.
(Hurry! You have just moments before Scene 2 starts!
The Impresario)

Celes walks out onto the stage.

The scene shifts back out there, now showing the
rooftop of a castle at nighttime. 2-8 "Aria de Mezzo Carattere"
starts playing.

That's apparently Italian, and
mezzo carattere translates
to "half character", which refers to a character
in an opera who mixes serious and comedic.
Here, it also seems to suggest that Celes is acting out
a mix of different roles, to the extent that it's difficult to tell
how much of what she says and does, both in and out of
the opera, is geniunely her. Thanks to ic0n67 for
suggesting the proper meaning of the phrase.

The Western Forces failed, and Maria's castle
fell under the occupation of the Eastern Forces.
Compelled to marry Prince Ralse of the
Eastern Forces, Maria is unable to abandon
her feelings for Draku, and looks to the night sky
every evening, thinking of her love...

The forces of the West fell,
and Maria's castle was taken.
Prince Ralse, of the East, took her hand by force.
But she never stopped yearning for Draco...

This doesn't necessarily mean the
wedding has occurred yet, just that she's being forced into it.

At several points during the aria, the player
must choose the correct next line, out of two choices. Picking the
wrong line, or failing to follow the stage directions properly, ends
the scene abruptly and forces starting the play over (and only a few
tries are allowed, though it's always possible to load, of course).

Celes walks onstage as Maria, and the first choice
comes right away.

Here's the first wrong choice,
which kills the play almost immediately...

♪ ああ ドラクゥさま。
本当に死んで……

♪ Aah, Draku-sama.
Are you truly dead...?

♪ Alas, Draco!
You're outta here!

♪ いとしの あなたは
とおいところへ？
♪ いろあせぬ とわのあい
ちかったばかりに ♪

♪ My beloved, have you
gone
to a distant place?
♪ But we only just swore
eternal, unfading
love. ♪

♪ Thank you, O my
beloved one.
To me, whose feelings
wavered if
but once, ♪
♪ You quietly, gently
gave an answer.
As long as it takes, as long as it takes,
I will
await you. ♪

♪ We must part now. My life goes on.
But my heart won't give
you up.
♪ Ere I walk away, let me hear you say.
I meant as much to you... ♪
♪ So gently, you touched my heart.
I will be forever yours.
♪ Come what may, I won't age a day,
I'll wait for you, always... ♪

A noble of some sort walks out onto the roof.

大臣「ラルス王子がおさがしです。
ダンスのお相手を。
もうおあきらめください。
我が国は東軍の属国になってしまった
のですから……

Chancellor: Prince Ralse is in
search of a dance partner.
Please, just resign yourself.
Our country has become a
vassal of the Eastern Forces...

CHANCELLOR: Prince Ralse is looking for a dance partner.
Leave the past behind!
Our kingdom is adopting the spirit of the East...!

Showing reluctance, Celes, as Maria, follows
him into the castle. The scene changes to show ballroom dancing.
Celes, as Maria, dances with a green-haired aristocrat who could
only be Prince Ralse. The waltz part of 2-9 "The Wedding"
plays.

The scene shifts back to the waiting room,
where Lock is looking out at the stage.

{ﾛｯｸ}「よくやった。
{セリス}。

{Lock}: Well done, {Celes}.

{LOCKE}: Well done, {CELES}.

Once the aria has been completed
successfully, any retries skip to this point.

Lock starts back to the balcony,
but finds a letter on his way there.

「お前ら気にくわんから
オペラ邪魔してやるけんね。
オルトロス」

"I can't stand you guys,
so I'm gonna disrupt the opera.
– Orthros"

I owe you one, so I'm gonna jam up your opera!
Ultros

{ﾛｯｸ}「まずいぞ！
ダンチョーに知らせないと。

{Lock}: Crap!
I've gotta let the Impresario know.

{LOCKE}: Uh oh...
Better tell the Impresario!

If this isn't the first time:

{ﾛｯｸ}「またか！

{Lock}: Again!?

{LOCKE}: Again!

Lock hurries back to the balcony.

ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「なんですと！！

Impresario: What did you say!?

IMPRESARIO: What!!!?

Suddenly, the music changes to the duel part
of "The Wedding". The view pans onto the stage, where
a soldier rushes into the ballroom.

『西軍の生き残りが攻めてきた！！
ﾗﾙｽ「なに！！

"Western Force survivors are attacking!!"
Ralse: What!?

The survivors of the West attack!
RALSE: Impossible!

Several soldiers of the Western Forces rush into
the room, where they start battling the soldiers of the Eastern Forces. Suddenly,
a voice cries out...

待て！！

Wait!!

Wait!!

...and Draku rides into the ballroom on a chocobo,
running over Ralse on the way. He hops off and begins to (what else) sing:

♪ マリア

♪ Maria

♪ Maria

Celes sings as Maria:

♪ ドラクゥ
このひを しんじてた。 ♪

♪ Draku
I knew this day would come. ♪

♪ Draco,
I've waited so long.
I knew you'd come. ♪

Literally, "I believed in this day,"
but you know what she means.

Ralse counter-sings:

♪ マリアは このわたしの
きさきになる べきひとだ ♪

♪ Maria is the one
who is to become my queen! ♪

♪ Maria will finally
have to become my queen! ♪

Maybe it's just me, but the way Ralse sings,
with one arm raised and the other at his chest, looks horribly stupid.

Draku sings back:

♪ いのち つきはてよう とも
はなし はしない。 ♪

♪ Though it may cost me my life,
I will never let her go. ♪

♪ For the rest of my life
I'll keep you near... ♪

Ralse sings again:

けっとうだ！ ♪

Then we duel! ♪

It's a duel! ♪

They begin dueling, and the view shifts
back to the balcony.

ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「しかしそいつは
どんなおそろしい方法で芝居を
邪魔しようと？
……あれを？！

Impresario: But what dreadful means
will he try disrupting the play with?
...that!?

IMPRESARIO: But how might he disrupt the opera?
...With that?!

The following line from
the ROM could go here, but is unused.

{ﾛｯｸ}「あれを！

{Lock}: That!

{LOCKE}: That has to be a joke!

The view shifts to show a series of planks
above the stage. Orthros is there, standing next a large weight
labeled "4t".

ULTROS: N'ghaaa!
This is heavier than I thought! It'll take me 5 minutes to drop it!

If we've seen this already, most of that
is skipped, and Orthros's line is changed.

ｵﾙﾄﾛｽ「んが～！
また４トンだーーー！

Orthros: Ngaaah!
It's four tons AGAIN!

ULTROS: N'ghooo!
And it only weighs 4 tons...!

Back to the balcony.
Lock's not exactly thrilled.

The following line from the ROM
looks like it belongs here, but isn't used.

{ﾛｯｸ}「ダンチョー
舞台の上ってどこだ？

{Lock}: Impresario,
where's the way to get above the stage?

{LOCKE}: Impresario, what's up above the stage?

{ﾛｯｸ}「せこいまねを！
ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「右の部屋のウラカタさんに
声かけてみなさい。
舞台上に行けますよ。
{ﾛｯｸ}「まかせろ！

{Lock}: He's playing dirty!
Impresario: Try speaking with the
stagehand in the room to the right.
You'll be able to go above the stage.
{Lock}: Leave it to me!

{LOCKE}: We haven't a second to lose!
IMPRESARIO: Talk to the man in the room to the far right!
He'll help you get up there!
{LOCKE}: It's as good as done!

As soon at the talking ends, a five-minute timer
starts counting down. Lock (with the others, if any) rushes to the room
indicated.

ｳﾗｶﾀ「ダンチョーの命令か。
一番右のスイッチを下へ。
他にはさわっちゃだめだよ。

Stagehand: Impresario's orders?
Lower the rightmost switch.
Don't touch any of the others.

STAGE MASTER: The Impresario asked me to
have you press the far right switch.

Flipping the switch opens a door in the room
on the opposite side of the stage, and Lock hurries there. The
door leads to the planks above the stage, but it's infested with
killer rats. The party has to either attempt to avoid them (with
minimal room to maneuver) or waste valuable time fighting
them.

The other switches (there are three of
them) have somewhat amusing effects, but now isn't the time. You
can always come back and play with the switches later, without
having to worry about the timer. One is even useful, much later.

If the timer expires, the weight falls, and the
play fails. No one actually gets crushed, though.

ｵﾙﾄﾛｽ「ふっしっし
おとしたる！

Orthros: Fssh ssh.
Down it goes!

ULTROS: N'ghaa, ha, ha!
Whooooopie!!

Hopefully, they reach Orthros before time
runs out.

ｵﾙﾄﾛｽ「えーい。ちくしょー

Orthros: Urgh. Dammit!

ULTROS: Phew! Rats!

Orthros suddenly lunges at Lock. The only
thing this does is to make everyone lose their balance, falling onto Draku
and Ralse, who are still dueling on the stage below. None of those involved
move for a while, but Celes at least had enough sense, and quick enough
reflexes, to move out of the way and avoid being hit. The music stops, a
murmur runs through the crowd, and the Impresario runs onto the stage in
another panic.

ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「ああ いかん！！
あの二人がのびてしまったら話が
続かない！
一体誰の妃になったらいいんだい？

Impresario: Aah, this won't do!!
The story won't go on if those
two are flattened!
Whose queen is she supposed to be?

IMPRESARIO: Disaster!
If the two heroes are flattened, the opera's over! Then who'll win the girl?!

Of those hurt, Lock is the first to get up.
He has a sudden inspiration, or something.

{ﾛｯｸ}「{セリス}を
めとるのは
ドラクゥでもラルスでもない！！

{Lock}: The one to take {Celes}
as his wife will be neither
Draku nor Ralse!!

{LOCKE}: Neither Draco nor Ralse will save {CELES}!

{ﾛｯｸ}「世界一の冒険家！
この{ロック}さまだァァ～！

{Lock}: I, {Lock}, the world's
greatest adventurer, shall!

{LOCKE}: I, {LOCKE}, the world's premier adventurer, will save her!

Lock's making quite a bold statement
here... I wonder how much he realizes what he's saying and
how much he means it?

ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「あちゃ～
へたクソな演技しおってからにィ！

Impresario: Egad!
After such horrendous acting!?

IMPRESARIO: Aya...
What awful acting!

He claimed to be the world's greatest
adventurer. He never said a word about being able to act...

Orthros: SHUT UP!
I'm an octopus, even if not the best!
I won't lose to the likes of you!!
I'm gonna fight you!!

ULTROS: Silence! You are in the presence of octopus royalty!
A lowborn thug like you could never defeat me!

ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「ええい。
もうどうにでもなれだ！
ミュージックスタート！！

Impresario: Whatever,
just make the most of it!
Start the music!!

IMPRESARIO: Hmm...
Might as well make the most of this. MUSIC!!

2-10 "Grand Finale?", a tune that's
just about as silly as fighting a talking purple octopus on stage in
an opera theater, starts playing. It's battle time, but first, our
tentacled buddy has
a few words to say.

ひさしぶり…… また出たよ。
待った？ 待った？

It's been a while... I'm back.
Didja wait? Didja wait?

Long time no see!
You've changed!
Did ya miss me?

Just to add the the weirdness, Orthros
keeps moving around, and also talks a lot, usually when
moving or using special attacks:

かっぱ ともだち ともだち！

Kappa, friend, friend!

Imp! Pal! Buddy!

The above line occurs periodically
when enough time passes and is always followed by using
Kappa Song.

まだ、かえらない

I ain't leaving yet.

I ain't ready ta go yet.

わいは、ただのタコじゃないよ

I ain't no ordinary octopus.

I ain't no...
garden-variety octopus!

こっち こっち

Over here, over here!

Here! Over here!

わいが出ると、こまる？ こまる？

Izzit a problem when I show up? Izzit?

How sweet it is!

よんだ？

You called?

Have ya read it?

Without kanji or context, よんだ
(yonda) could be either 読んだ
(read) or 呼んだ (called).

たのしい？ たのしい？

Fun? Fun?

Havin' fun?

Orthros's attacks vary depending on his
current position, and he changes location every two attacks (not
counting the timer-based Kappa Song). Position A: Battle, Ink, or
Tentacle. Position B: Battle (33%) or
Fire (67%). Position C:
Battle (33%) or Level 3 Confuse (67%). Position D: Battle,
10 Kilovolts, or Drain.

Not having useful magic could become
a problem here. With Tina bedridden and Celes too busy wearing
a dress to fight (not that there's anything wrong with dresses, but
who would want to fight a giant octopus while in formal
wear?), the only spells available for this battle are whatever Lock
and the others have learned from Genjuu since Zozo. That could
be just what you need, though, since Orthros is weak against
Flame and
Thunder, and current magicite
provide Fire and
Thunder
(and Thundara if you've
been grinding), plus the Ramuh summon.
Slow also works, and
Cure is, as always, very
useful as well.

Be careful if using Mash or Cayenne,
since Orthros will also counter Deathblow Sword or Deathblow
Technique attacks with Acid Rain.

Gau has several useful options for this
battle. If you've been back to the Beast Plain recently, Aspilance
(Aspik) uses 1000 Kilovolts, a surprisingly powerful
Thunder attack that will severely
damage Orthros, and the Rage also absorbs
Water (Acid Rain) and is immune
to 'kappa' and 'confusion', though it's weak against
Flame. And, like the last few
bosses, Orthros is vulnerable to 'stop', so Alacrán and Acrophies
work well again, especially since this prevents him from
switching positions, making him seem weaker because the
various positions each have independent HP totals
internally.

Also note that losing just ruins the play
and doesn't (necessarily) result in a Game Over.

After fighting and acting silly for a while
(maybe trying to amuse the audience?), Orthros finally gives
in.

今日もだめだったか……
タコで すみません。

No good today either...?
Sorry I'm such an octopus.

What an unlucky day!
Adios!

Possible pun on タコ as
蛸 (tako, octopus) and as
胼胝 (tako, callus).
Calluses never seem to go away either.

Orthros runs away, leaving a measly 2 gil as spoils.
Oh well. Lock laughs after the battle, but then a voice is heard.

「まちな！

: Wait right there!

Just a darn minute!

「すばらしいショーだったぜ！

: That was a marvelous show!

What a performance!!

The lighting shrinks so that only a small area
around Celes is lit up. "Setzer" begins playing. Predictably, Setzer
leaps down onto the stage and grabs Celes, who suddenly reverts to her usual
outfit for no apparent reason.

ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「{セッツァー}だ！！
{ｾｯﾂｧｰ}「約束通り
マリアはもらっていくぜ！

Impresario: It's {Setzer}!!
{Setzer}: I'll be taking Maria
just like I promised!

IMPRESARIO: {SETZER}!
{SETZER}: I'm a man of my word, music man!

Still holding Celes, he takes to the air,
presumably on a rope from his airship.

{ｾﾘｽ}「あーーれェーーー

{Celes}: Whaaaat theeee...?

{CELES}: That's HIM...?!

The Impresario starts running around excitedly.
By the end of his little speech, he's hopping up and down like a little kid who's
had far too much sugar.

Impresario: A sudden plot twist!
It seemed Maria would become
{Lock}'s queen, but she was
carried off by {Setzer}.
What does fate have in store for her?
Look forward to part TWO!!

IMPRESARIO: What a reversal!
Thinking she's {LOCKE}'s new queen, Maria is instead nabbed by {SETZER}!
What fate lies in store for her? Stay tuned for Part 2!

Failure at any point kicks the party out
to the world map and forces a retry. Most of the noninteractive
portions are truncated after the first time, but the Impresario
gets increasingly worried with each failure.

ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「きのうは失敗でしたね。
でもまだなんとか芝居はつづけて
います。残りの上演はあと３日。

Impresario: Yesterday was a failure.
But somehow the play still goes on.
Three days of performances remain.

IMPRESARIO: Sorry,
but yesterday's performance was awful! I'll give you just 3 more chances!

ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「残りの上演はあと２日。

Impresario: Two days of performances remain.

IMPRESARIO: You have 2 more chances.

ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「最後のチャンスですよ。

Impresario: This is your last chance.

IMPRESARIO: You have 1 more chance.

Each time, before the event continues,
he adds:

ﾀﾞﾝﾁｮｰ「お互いがんばりましょう。

Impresario: Let's all do our best together.

IMPRESARIO: We're all in this together!

Of course, you can't fail too many times,
or you'll get this message and a Game Over: